The basic idea behind the theory is that every situation demands a specific kind of leadership. In other words, not all situations are equal. Thus, effective leaders are able to adapt their style according to the demands of the situation

The situational leadership approach is one of the most well known approaches in leadership Theory. It was developed by Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard in 1969. They based their work on William Reddin’s 3D Management Style Theory. (Northouse, 2004). I would add that there’s a great deal on resemblance with the Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid® too. In 1985 Blanchard refined the model and it was named The Situational Leadership II (SLII) model.

The Situational Leadership Model

It includes two components, the Leadership Style and Development Level. To properly talk about these components let’s see one of the SLII model representation.

Leadership Style

Leadership sytle is explained as a function of two different kinds of behavior: Supportive behavior and Directive Behavior. Doesn’t sound familiar? People oriented, task oriented? Let’s see:

• Supportive Behavior:This kind of behavior involve two way communication and responses focusing mainly on emotional and social support.
• Directive Behavior:In this category of behavior, you recognize the direct orders, the goals to be achieved and every action that tends toward the reach of the goal. You can summarize this behavior as setting clear orders on what is to be done, how is to be done and who’s going to be responsible.

The leadership styles can be classified in four groups:

• S1 (style 1) : High Directive, Low Supportive.This style is also refered to as a DIRECTING approach.
• S2 (style 2) : High Directive, High Supportive.This style is also refered to as a COACHING approach.
• S3 (style 3) : Low Directive, High Supportive.This style is also refered to as SUPPORTING approach.
• S4 (style 4) : Low Directive, Low Supportive.This style is also refered to as DELEGATING approach.

Development Level

Development level refers to the degree of competence and commitment employees have to acomplish a specific task or activity. The levels describe several combinations on competence and commitment. The classification is as follows:

• D1: Low Competence, High Commitment.Employees are new to a task, but highly motivated about it.
• D2: Moderate Competence, Low Commitment.Employees have learn a task, but their losing their motivation.
• D3: Mid Competence, Moderate Commitment.Employees know their tasks, and don’t need much direction, but they are not too motivated. don’t
• D4: High Competence, High Commitment.Employees are proficient in their task and have a high degree of motivation.

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